Zephyr's Birthday Present
by thisisberkk
Summary: It's Zephyr's sixth birthday, and Hiccup and Astrid have the perfect gift for their daughter.


Fighting and preparing for any battle that could potentially arise was something that Astrid Haddock wanted to train her children in no matter what. The art was something she was deeply passionate about, so it only made sense to pass that along to her children.

After all, ever since she was a little girl, Astrid was taught to how to use a variety of weapons, her most favorite being her beloved axe, gifted to her from her mother for her tenth birthday.

So, it's not strange in the slightest that she wanted to do this as well with her own children. Even though things were rather peaceful on New Berk, it was always best to be prepared for any sort of conflict and danger that may arise, whether it be defending the entire village or defending one's self.

From an early age, Astrid and Hiccup began training their kids with a variety of weapons. They used toy ones at first, of course, as to reduce the chance of any kind of harm to Zephyr and Nuffink, even though Astrid had been trained with real weapons when she was a little girl, and most young Vikings did so, but Hiccup and Astrid were never ones to follow traditions to a T.

They introduced their kids to axes, swords, bow and arrow, anything and everything to find the suitable weapon of choice for them.

Rather quickly, Hiccup and Astrid noticed Zephyr adored sword-fighting the most out of any weapon she tried out. Using wooden swords that Hiccup made, she and her parents would duel for hours and hours nearly every day, the girl never ceasing to become tired of it, and seemingly feeling the most confident and comfortable with this weapon.

She would rush to finish her schooling so that she could go practice with her wooden sword, often feeling annoyed if Hiccup or Astrid told her to wait because Nuffink needed something or if they were too busy to help her practice at the time. It was all she could think about and all she wanted to do. And she was rather good at it, as well.

So, when her sixth birthday began to roll around, Hiccup and Astrid felt it was only right to gift Zephyr with her own sword. A small, beginner's size one, of course. One not as sharp as many of the Vikings have, but one that would be good for her to practice on, but still be able to cause some damage if need be.

When Hiccup wasn't busy with chiefly duties in the week leading up to his daughter's birthday, he would head to the forge and work on crafting the perfect sword for Zephyr. Hiccup was always meticulous when it came to fashioning weapons, but with this, he was even more cautious to make sure that it would be absolutely perfect. He would even have Astrid check the progress on it and make sure it received her approval whenever she stopped by without Zephyr, just to make sure that this was going to be the best first sword for their daughter.

On the day of Zephyr's birthday, Hiccup requested Astrid to bring Zephyr to the forge after their schooling so he could present their daughter with her gift, after making a few last-minute touches to it – making sure it was sharpened to perfection and that there were no missing details.

A little bit before lunchtime, from his small private office in the back of the forge, Hiccup heard the excited chatter of Zephyr's voice coming from the main area of the shop. She was telling her mother all about how excited she was to hang out with her friends for her birthday, and that Hiccup had promised to take her out sailing once the weekend rolled around, just as a special extra treat for her birthday, since she loved going out to sea with her dad.

Smiling to himself, and taking the newly completed sword in his hands, Hiccup placed it in the leather sheath he had just finished making the night before. He admired it in his hands, imagining Zephyr's reaction when he was going to hand it to her. He hoped she would like it and that she would be excited to use it and learn how to properly swordfight. He set it down on his desk and made his way out to where his family was after a few moments.

Hiccup grinned at the sight of his family, and he chuckled at Zephyr's excited reaction when she heard her dad walking out from his office. Astrid, who was standing behind her daughter and holding onto Nuffink's hand, grinned at the sight.

"Happy birthday, Zeph!" Hiccup exclaimed merrily, holding his arms out for the six-year-old.

"Daddy!" she responded as she ran over to her father, who picked her up in a big hug. Astrid shook her head and couldn't hold back a smile at the sight. Zephyr had always been a Daddy's girl.

Hiccup laughed and pressed a kiss to Zephyr's forehead. "You're getting so big, bud, I'm not going to be able to hold you soon!" he told her, looking into her eyes.

Zephyr shook her head insistently. "You can still hold me," she told him as-a-matter-of-factly.

Hiccup chuckled and kissed her cheek before setting her back down on the ground. Hiccup turned to Astrid and gave her a quick kiss on the lips for greeting, and then ruffled Nuffink's hair, the boy laughing in response.

"I finished all my school for the day, Daddy!" Zephyr told Hiccup proudly once Hiccup was done greeting his family.

Astrid nodded her head. "She did, and she was very patient waiting for Nuff to finish his so we could come over here," she confirmed, looking at Zephyr with affection.

"Nice job, bud!" Hiccup said, giving the girl a high-five. "So, you get to play for the rest of the day before the dinner celebration, huh?"

Zephyr beamed. "I want to practice with my sword," she stated.

Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other and smiled before turning back to their daughter. "Well, I have just the thing that might help you with that," Hiccup told her, turning around and going back into his office.

Zephyr gasped. "A present?" she said, looking up at Astrid.

Astrid smiled. "It _is_ your birthday after all, Zeph." She squeezed her daughter's shoulder as well.

"But I normally get my present at dinner!" Zephyr replied.

"Well, today is a special occasion," Astrid responded. "You're turning six!"

Hiccup returned from his office, holding the sheathed sword behind his back so Zephyr couldn't see, though the girl tried peeking behind her father's back to see what he was hiding.

Hiccup laughed. "Alright, bud; close your eyes and hold out your hands!"

Zephyr wasted no time doing what her father requested. A big smile formed on her face, and Hiccup felt his heart melt at the sight.

"No peeking!" he reminded her.

"I'm not peeking, Daddy!" Zephyr retorted, bounding on her tippy-toes in eagerness.

Hiccup smiled and pulled out the gift from behind his back. From the corner of his eye, he could see Nuffink's surprised expression when he saw what his sister's gift was. Hiccup placed the sheathed sword gently in his daughter's hands. He took a step back.

Zephyr gave a confused look. "What is it?" she asked, still not opening her eyes.

"Why don't you open your eyes and find out?" Astrid responded, running a hand along one of her daughter's braids.

Hesitantly, Zephyr blinked open her eyes and glanced down at the mysterious object in her hands. When she looked at it, her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. She looked up at her father in complete shock.

"Is it…?"

Hiccup nodded and smiled. He reached over. "Here, let me help you."

Holding the sheath in one hand, Hiccup helped Zephyr hold onto the silver, ornate handle of the sword and aided her as she pulled out the weapon from its case. Zephyr could not hold back her smile as she held the thin, small, beginner's sword in her hand, gaping at it with such awe and surprise.

The handle of the sword was uniquely carved – one side had a Deadly Nadder, and the other had a Night Fury on it. At the base of the handle were her initials.

"Whoa," Nuffink whispered, looking at it.

Zephyr looked up at Hiccup. "Is this…?" she asked again.

"It's all yours," Hiccup responded, nodding his head.

Zephyr's eyes widened even more, and she looked at her mom, who nodded as well. Zephyr grinned and looked back at the weapon. "I have my own sword?!" she asked excitedly, bouncing on her toes again, something she did often when she was excited.

Hiccup laughed. "Happy birthday, bud!"

Zephyr squealed excitedly and began to pretend to jab something in the air with her present. "My own sword!" she exclaimed with such elation.

"Your dad made it just for you," Astrid explained, as she watched her daughter swing around the sword, using some of the methods she had taught her during their sparing matches.

Zephyr smiled at Hiccup. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed, giving her dad a one-armed hug.

"No problem, bud," Hiccup replied, patting Zephyr's back before the girl pulled away. "But remember: it's a real sword; it's not fake like your wooden one, so you're going to have to be a lot more careful when practicing."

"Which means no doing it around Nuff if me or Dad aren't around," Astrid added on. "We don't want anyone getting hurt."

Zephyr nodded her head obediently. "I promise, I promise!" They didn't have any doubt that she would follow their rules; she was a good girl who was only disobedient on rare occasions.

"And to help you learn how to use it more, we're going to have Eret give you lessons on it," Astrid said, right as the man in question entered the forge, probably to pick up a sword he was having Gobber sharpen.

Astrid and Hiccup had already asked Eret to give Zephyr lessons on how to use a sword, even prior to them deciding to give Zephyr the weapon for her birthday. Eret knew how to use the weapon better than the two of them, and pretty much anyone else in the village, so they figured he would be the best choice to teach her how to use it properly.

Zephyr turned around when she heard Eret laugh from the entrance of the forge.

"Heard someone say my name?" Eret said, walking over to the Haddocks. He smiled when he saw the sword in Zephyr's hands. "Ah, is that a sword, I see?"

Zephyr nodded her head excitedly. "You're going to teach me how to use it?" she asked.

Eret smiled and nodded. "Gotta have the best sword-fighter teach you," he said. He patted her head. "And you know the first rule of sword fighting?"

Zephyr shook her head.

"Stick 'em with the pointy end!"

The five of them all laughed at the joke. Zephyr bounced on her tippy toes once again. "Eret, Eret, can you start teaching me how to swordfight now?"

Eret looked up at Hiccup and Astrid. Astrid nodded her head. "Just be back at the house at lunchtime, okay?" she requested of her daughter. "Then we'll have to get ready for your celebration tonight."

"I will, I will! Thank you!" Zephyr exclaimed. She grabbed the sheath, stuck her sword in it, and then grabbed Eret's hand, dragging him out of the forge with her, already rambling about how excited she was to learn and to fight with her present.

Hiccup smiled as he watched his daughter run off, and then he turned to his wife.

"I'd say that was successful," Astrid said, picking up Nuffink in her arms.

Hiccup smiled and took Astrid's hand in his, squeezing it. "I'd say so, too."


End file.
